The escalating institutional and legal dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over resources in the North Malvina Basin has now reached a formal diplomatic level. On the direct instructions of Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship delivered a strongly worded protest note to the British Embassy in Buenos Aires, condemning the decisions announced by the colonial administration in the Malvina Islands.

The complaint responds to the resolution released earlier this week by the usurping assembly of the islands, which extended for five years —with the option of two additional years— all offshore hydrocarbon production licenses , while also validating the acquisition by Navitas Petroleum Atlantic Limited of 65% of the PL001 area , a 1,126 square kilometer block adjacent to the Sea Lion project that the Israeli company agreed to operate together with the Canadian company JHI Associates Inc.

Violation of Resolution 31/49 and absolute illegality

In the diplomatic document, the Argentine Foreign Ministry stressed that the unilateral decisions of London and its dependent authorities in the archipelago directly violate international law:

Legal restrictions and sanctions on the supply chain

The Foreign Ministry's statement reinforces the criminal and economic warning about the corporate ecosystem that materially assists oil companies:

“Any hydrocarbon activity on the Argentine Continental Shelf that does not have the express authorization of the competent authorities of the Argentine Republic constitutes an illegal act under both international law and Argentine law—in particular Laws No. 26,659 and No. 26,915 and Decree No. 868/2026. The Argentine Government reiterates that it will use all diplomatic, administrative, economic, judicial and legal tools at its disposal to defend its sovereign rights . ”

The official warning carries direct operational weight: it reminds everyone that those who participate “directly or indirectly in these illegal activities are subject to the corresponding administrative, civil, and criminal penalties.” This protection extends to oil service companies, owners of drilling or laying vessels (such as Bluewater or Fugro), insurers, and banks that facilitate financing for the development of Sea Lion.

The diplomatic notification complements, in formal terms, the precautionary measure issued by the Federal Court of Rio Grande, headed by Mariel Borruto —which ordered the physical work to be stopped until an Argentine environmental impact assessment is available—and the treatment in Congress of the Law for the Defense of National Sovereignty, ratifying that the Argentine Republic will not validate the consummation of consummated acts on its southern maritime platform.